Veterans receive dinner, thanks

INWOOD – Local veterans received a meal, saw a concert and, most importantly, received a “thank you” from the community Tuesday at Musselman High School’s 11th annual Veterans’ Celebration.

According to Barby Frankenberry, the library media specialist at Musselman, the event grew out of one student’s independent study course.

“She was actually working for the Library of Congress to do the oral histories for local veterans,” Frankenberry said. “She was working in the library one day and said, ‘I need to do a culminating activity,’ and I said we could host a dinner for some of the veterans she had been interviewing.”

Frankenberry said she received a letter from a World War II veteran two days after the first dinner, and his words made her realize the event should continue.

“‘When I came back, I had my knapsack on my back,'” Frankenberry said, reading the letter. “‘Nobody asked me where I had been or where I was going or how I was. There wasn’t a big parade like you see in the movies. This was my parade.'”

The first veterans’ dinner commemorated the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and Frankenberry said she primarily reached out to World War II veterans for that event.

Now, she said, more than 140 veterans representing all branches and campaigns of the military attended Tuesday night’s dinner.

Ernest Wenck, who served in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier at the end of World War II, attended the event at Musselman.

Wenck said he remembers going to boot camp at age 17, but he said he did not see much combat, since the war was drawing to a close.

“Germany surrendered, so all of the fighting moved to the Pacific. Next thing you know, they dropped the atomic bomb,” he said.

Wenck said he appreciated being recognized at the dinner with his fellow veterans.

“It’s great,” Wenck said. “It’s weird, you know, while a war’s going on, the military are the greatest people in the world. Five minutes after the war is over, forget about it. It’s nice to get some respect.”